Run, Fat Boy, Run

December 31, 2008 at 5:58 pm · Filed under Fitness and Exercise, Personal Goals

I am a runner.

I never thought I would type a sentence like that, at least those words in that order, as I often type sentences that involve personal pronouns, verbs, and nouns.

Even once I was hooked on working out, lifting weights three to four days a week and doing cardio another three days, I avoided running; I stuck to the elliptical trainer, the stair climber, the stationary bike. Running, after all, looked hard.

That all changed back in August of this year (which has another 6.5 hours left in it), when I volunteered to be part of my company’s race team in a local charity 5K race. I had no idea how I would do, but I figured I was in the best shape of my life, so it wouldn’t kill me. I turned in a time of 32 minutes and change, which - yes - was a full fifteen minutes behind the winner, but I was happy just to have finished the race (and, even then, I finished in the top 25%).

I was also hooked.

I entered another 5K race a month later, ran a 28:42 time, and then got this crazy idea: I wanted to run a marathon. Three point one miles… twenty-six point two miles… how different could they be? I set my sights on the San Diego Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon on May 31, 2009.

I checked out some books from the library* and started training. Things went well for the first four weeks or so, until after a 10-mile run I developed extensor tendinitis, most likely from my shoes being laced too tightly. I got checked for stress fractures as well, but came up with all bones intact.

Just to be safe, I chose to get fitted for new shoes as well, and paid a visit to the Boulder Running Company. I did a video gait analysis with one of their sales staff, and we settled on the Brooks Addiction 7.

Once the injury healed (thanks to Javier for the “dunk your foot in ice water” tip), I used the new shoes for about a week, putting thirteen or so miles on them, when I developed extensor tendinitis again, this time further down my foot where the tendon hooks onto the toe bones. The problem with running shoes is that you don’t know if they’re the perfect shoe until it’s too late to return them.

So, a trip back to the Boulder Running Company, where I worked with a different, older (and probably more experienced) salesman, who listened to my tales of foot maladies and shoes gone bad, and worked with me for probably 45 minutes to find a good compromise shoe… one that wasn’t as quick to wear out as the original pair, but not as rigid as the Addictions.

In the end, I walked out with a pair of Brooks Adrenaline - and the best part is that the store took the other shoes back, even with the outdoor mileage on them, some mud stains, and the bugaboos from my sweaty feet. I highly, highly recommend The Boulder Running Company if you’re in the Denver metro area - it’s worth the drive. Let me say it again:

I highly, highly recommend The Boulder Running Company. They will have my running business for years (assuming I stop injuring myself).

I’m not able to test them out yet, as I still have my foot pain. I am icing it daily, doping myself up on ibuprofen, and taking off my shoes whenever possible. I hope to be able to get a run in on the weekend.

Anyway, that was a really long-winded way of getting to my main point: running kicks ass.

No elliptical trainer session will rival the feeling of being in “the zone,” where your legs seem to move with little effort and your mind is clear and everything feels right in the world for at least that point in time. No stationary bike is going to let you explore new paths and interesting routes for getting in your miles. No stair climbing machine is going to top the feeling of crossing a finish line, of what once seemed an impossible distance, be it a 5K, marathon, or more.

I’ve now got my eye on the Anchorage marathon in June. I used to live in Alaska as a child, and I look forward to seeing how things have changed, or how I just remember everything in ways unimaginably wrong.

I also look forward to crossing the finish line, receiving the finisher’s medal, and knowing I’ve done something so difficult that most people would never even try… maybe, someday, when they have exciting elliptical trainer races the world over, I will go that route, but for now…

I am a runner.

* I recommend Galloway’s Book on Running,Marathon… You Can Do It!, as well as The Non-Runner’s Marathon Trainer.

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Third Time’s a Charm?

December 29, 2008 at 9:24 pm · Filed under About, Featured, Fitness and Exercise, Personal Goals

Yes, it happened.

Again.

Right as I got motivated to resurrect this blog, the very act of trying to change my life got in the way of writing about it. I suspect that’s why Jesus had all those other people write his story (aside from, well, most of it being fiction or loose tales and rambling rumors tied together in to something that, if you don’t read too closely, makes some kind of sense). But, hey, dude’s got 2006 years of success over this blog, so I won’t knock it too much.

Anyway, I’m back.

First goal: a redesign of the site, using as much of a pre-fab theme as possible.

Second goal: actually write something of interest.

Third goal: lose another 10 pounds, run a marathon in June or so, and write about that and other stuff on a regular basis.

That photo is where I am right now, except in real life I’m usually in focus, depending on how many beers I’ve had… a year ago, I was at 199 pounds (which for a 5′8″ guy is, in the parlance of the medical profession, “rather tubby”) and would only run if being chased by something dangerous (something hot and saucy, well, I’d stand still with open arms). As of today, I am at 173 pounds and, prior to some injuries I’ll detail later, able to run 6-10 miles without much problem.

I’ve come a long way, baby.

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